Napoleon

  • Joaquin Phoenix, Vanessa Kirby, Ben Miles
  • Ridley Scott
  • November 22nd 2023
The film is an original and personal look at Napoleon Bonaparte's origins and his swift, ruthless climb to emperor, viewed through the prism of his addictive and often volatile relationship with his wife and one true love, Josephine.

Official Trailer

Our Review

Napoleon

Verdict: Napoleon is a disjointed, unengaging film that can't decide what tone it wants to be.

  • Joaquin Phoenix, Vanessa Kirby, Ben Miles
  • November 22nd 2023
  • Ridley Scott

Joaquin Phoenix plays French leader Napoleon Bonaparte in Ridley Scott’s historical epic.

Twenty-three years after the release of their previous collaboration, Gladiator, Joaquin Phoenix and Ridley Scott have teamed up once again for Napoleon.

As the title suggests, Scott’s historical epic charts French leader Napoleon Bonaparte’s rise to power, his fall from grace and his turbulent marriage to his wife, Empress Josephine (Vanessa Kirby).

Scott has proven his talent for battle scenes over the years so it is no surprise that the war scenes in Napoleon are visually magnificent and epic in scale. They are the highlight of the movie on a pure surface level.

The problem is that Scott and his writer David Scarpa don’t care to explain the context behind the battles or give a substantial reason why they are happening at all. They assume that everyone knows Bonaparte’s history and can use their own knowledge to fill in the gaps in the story. So if you are a newcomer, you might struggle to understand or get invested in them.

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